The Spanish Armada romped to a comfortable victory over the hapless Turks on Friday night at Nice courtesy of a brace from Alvaro Morata to go with a Nolito strike. In doing so, Vicente del Bosque’s men punched their ticket to the round of 16, where they are likely to advance as group champions.
In a one-sided affair that saw the Turkish side lay down their arms by the time the game clock struck sixty minutes, the Spanish proved once again why they are one of the favourites for the title.
Here are five of the biggest talking points from the Group D clash that might have sealed the fate for one of the sides.
#1 Be afraid, be very afraid
A Spanish side firing on all cylinders – looking slick with their passing and finishing off opportunities at the end of it is a sight to behold for all football lovers. For the opposing sides, however, it’s a sight to be afraid of. And going by their display at Nice on Friday night, they probably are the first side in the competition about whom you can use the phrase “functioning like a well-oiled machine”.
Their domination in terms of possession and a solid defence were predictable aspects. However, with their incisiveness in the final third and their clinical finishing, they look like the complete package. And it worked not only in terms of the execution but also the planning as far as the Spaniards go.
While Nolito and David Silva squeezed more infield to provide Alvaro Morata with more support up front, the full-backs, Jordi Alba and Juanfran provided more firepower with their marauding runs. All this culminated in Spain not only winning the lion's share of possession, but also the game in the most handsome of fashions.
#2 Simply outclassed
That’s as plainly as anyone can put it really. The Turks offered as much threat as a man who brings a sword to a gun fight does. Well, that even might be putting it kindly. Fateh Terim’s men can be termed lucky by many to see the scoreline at the end of their last game against the Croatia finish at 1-0 after the Croatians rattled the post on three occasions.
And this game was no different except for the fact that the opponents were more clinical and ruthless. Whilst the Turkish did try and play to their strengths, it never really was enough. Terim brought in Burak Yilmaz into the team in place of Cenk Tosun to bring in a more direct approach to their game.
However, Yilmaz whilst dominating Gerard Pique in aerial duels had very little help from others to alter the script any which way.
Ardan Turan had a stinker and the much famed Hakan Calhanoglu was AWOL for the second game running and was duly subbed off at the half-way mark. The team has a whole just didn’t function and never looked like anything but a second fiddle in the contest.
#3 Spanish forwards to the fore
Make no mistake about. This is as much as about redemption as it is about pride for the Spaniards. The golden generation of Spanish football has already asserted themselves on the footballing with two Euros and a World Cup triumph to boast of. However, the memories of their first-round exit at the last World Cup still remains fresh, the wound still not tended to.
They hobbled out of the tournament with a front line that looked disjoint and dysfunctional as Diego Costa fluffed his lines time and again with not much help from the others. This time around. things look much better.
In Morata, they have a mobile front man who can also double up as the target man and the ‘late bloom’ of Spanish football, Nolito also gets into dangerous positions ever so often.
Both the forwards delighted us not only with their all-around ability in the game but also their ability to find the back of the net, the most important thing in football. And that helped finally vindicate their large spells of domination with the ball.
Spain already possesses arguably the most fierce midfield in the competition and with the forwards also coming to the fore, this team, as suggested before, is to be feared.
#4 A distasteful scene
The world has seen many a deplorable act when people become frustrated with their own country. Whilst some envisage Donald Trump to become their president, others boo their own footballing nation on the pitch. Thankfully, for us, it was the latter of the two.
As much as these big tournaments are about the big guns strutting their stuff out for the World to see, it’s also about those fairytale moments. The moments where against all odds the so called “minnows” of the footballing world conjure up every ounce of their courage and spirit to eke out a result. And this tournament hasn’t been any different. The two Irish teams along with the likes of Albania and Iceland have again given us the reason for romance with the beautiful.
Sadly, for the Turkish supporters, their team was a horror show both in terms of footballing ability and mustering the courage to fight for the cause. That culminated in a fierce backlash from their own fans and deservedly so.
The Turkish captain Ardan Turan, himself, followed one stinker of a display with another and there was hardly anyone left for the others to look up to. Fateh Terim’s men are yet to find the back of the net and lie in the deep trenches of Group D. It won’t be a surprise at all if they end up there.
#5 Andres Iniesta is a magician
It won’t all be an overstatement if we call Andres Iniesta the Ernest Hemingway of the footballing world. Just as the English writer invoked emotions within us without sending us to the dictionary, Andres Iniesta’s game is also based on subtleness and the use of simple footballing skills which just leaves us mesmerised time and again.
What can I say about this man that has not already been said before? Thousands of trees have been felled and millions of kilobytes used just for the sole purpose of singing praises for the Spaniard. Friday night was another such example why the Barcelona midfielder will go down in the ethos of footballing history as one of the greatest midfielders ever to have played the game.
The 32-year-old was in the mood once again at Nice as he demonstrated his prowess at the heart of the Spanish engine room. Whether it be a nonchalant turn at the centre circle, or the inch perfect threaded pass to set up the third goal or the time when he decided to make an utter fool of Ozan Tufan on the left wing with his nimble footwork, Iniesta's range of footballing brilliance was on full display at the Allianz Riviera.
Surprisingly, the Spaniard missed out on a spot in UEFA’s list for the first round of fixtures. And just because of his underwhelming demeanour Andres Iniesta might not end up with the Golden ball unless he can lead his Spanish side to victory, but at the moment, he is head and shoulders above any central midfielder playing in the tournament.
And going by the precedent he has set in the opening games, this is one tournament where he might just cement his place at the top of the World’s footballing talents if he has not already.
Just as the English writer invoked emotions withint us without sending us to the dictionary
